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Belair-Monange 2013

Tasting Notes

One of the few stars of this difficult vintage, Belair-Monange's 58 acres of incredibly well-placed vineyards (that includes all of the chateau formerly known as Magdelaine) produced only 950 cases from frightfully low yields. Thanks to the efforts made by the Moueix family, particularly Christian's son Edouard, this is one of the candidates for the wine of the vintage. A blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color, and pure, flowery, black raspberry and black cherry fruit intermixed with a hint of chalky minerality. The wine is medium-bodied, beautifully concentrated, and appears to be an aberration in a vintage such as 2013. Kudos to Edouard Moueix and his team for this remarkable success. Drink it over the next 12-15+ years.

91/93
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (214), August 2014

The 2013 Belair-Monange from JP Moueix is adorned with a Merlot-driven bouquet as you would expect, albeit more plush than I anticipated: quite floral with rose petal littered over attractive redcurrant and black cherry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannin. No, it is not quite as detailed as the 2013 Trotanoy and perhaps comes across a little pinched on the finish, nevertheless there is decent weight and body here, a fine structure, and if graced with a couple of years in bottle it should drink well for 12-15 years. Though not achieving the level of Trotanoy, this should still drink well for several years.

90
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (227), October 2016
92
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2014

The Belair-Monange has quite an upfront, rather bold bouquet with ripe raspberry and wild strawberry scents interlaced with Havana cigar and seaweed. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins. It feels rounded in the mouth, quite succulent although I would have preferred more tension, especially towards the finish. You want this wine to take off and fly, but the finish seems rooted to the ground.

88/90
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com, April 2014
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.